Bahrain court jails 12 protesters, acquits policeman

Anti-government protesters gesture while shout anti-government slogans as they march during an anti-government protest organized by Bahrain's main opposition party al-Wefaq in the village of Bilad al-Qadeem, south of Manama, November 22, 2013. (Reuters / Stringer) / Reuters

Bahrain has sentenced 12 protesters to 10 years behind bars for attempting to murder a policeman in 2012 during the government crackdown on protests. In a separate case an officer was acquitted of trying to kill a protester because of insufficient proof.

Seventeen Shiite protesters had all been charged with attempted
murder of police officers, taking part in an unauthorized
demonstration and possessing petrol bombs, AFP reported. One of
them was handed a three year prison sentence and four more were
acquitted, while others were sentenced to 10 years behind bars.

The demonstrators were arrested on May 1, 2012 in a village near
the capital Manama during the nation-wide protests demanding
democratic reforms in the Sunni-ruled Kingdom. They were detained
after allegedly attacking a police patrol and injuring an officer
who suffered burns on his hands.

Meanwhile, in another case on Sunday the Manama court acquitted a
Pakistani officer employed by the Interior Ministry of attempting
to kill a Shiite protester, according to an AFP source. The
policeman was detained after the demonstrator Saleh Abbas was
shot dead during an anti-government rally in Shakura village on
April 19, 2012. A medical examination of the dead body showed
that Abbas was also hit by buckshot in the heart, lung, stomach
and spleen.

The policeman admitted under cross-examination that he was the
only member of his patrol to have opened fire on the day of the
killing, lawyers said.

Also on Sunday Hussain M. Jawad, the head of European Bahraini
Organization for Human Rights wrote on his Twitter account that
he was arrested. However it is yet unclear on what charges.

The Kingdom of Bahrain has been witnessing mass protests led by
the majority Shiites against the minority Sunni-led government
for two years.

The government has been trying to suppress the uprising by
introducing stricter penalties. In August, the country’s leader,
King Hamad officialy banned unauthorized protests in Manama.

He also ordered stiffer penalties for “terror acts,” which
include a minimum ten-year prison sentence for an attempted
attack and a life imprisonment or the death penalty if the
bombing caused casualties.

The Kingdom which hosts the US Fifth Fleet has faced widespread
criticism over its harsh sentencing of activists within the
country. In October, fifty Shiite activists were jailed for up to
15 years in a mass show trial. The verdict was slammed by human
rights watchdog, Amnesty International that called it
‘appalling’.